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What type of driver are you?

Give yourself five seconds to answer this question and be honest: On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate yourself as a driver?

Chances are you've awarded yourself a magnificent eight out of ten, or at the minimum a still-very-respectable seven. Well done you.

Studies have shown that 93 per cent believe that they fall in the top 50 per cent of drivers - which is obviously impossible. This phenomenon of believing we're better at things than we are - known as illusory superiority - is so common it's actually&nb sp;expected by researchers.

Even if you're not the perfect driver, there are still many driver profiles that you might fall into. The thing is you'll probably have to ask a friend what type of driver you are if you really want to know the truth.

So have a read through our driver profiles and ask yourself: "What type of driver am I?"

The Frontseat Driver

We've all been in the car with backseat drivers - telling us what we should have done, the route we should have taken and howthey could have done it better. It's hard to relax behind the wheel when someone is berating you for an entire journey about the speed at which you're driving or how you had to back out of your first parallel parking attempt and try it over.

A frontseat driver is often more irritating: constantly telling their passengers about how smoothly they handled that tricky corner or badgering on about why they are a master of switching lanes on motorways - whilst they're driving on a motorway. And d on't even mention parking; every frontseat driver thinks they are the best.

The Speed Freak

Just because your car can go from nought to 60 in six seconds, doesn't mean you have to push your pedal to the metal down every quiet road. Some drivers just can't help themselves.

Next time you're driving and your partner/parent/child is sitting in the front seat next to you, glance over and remember the expression on their face. If they look the same as they do when they're watching a horror movie or a distressing story on the n ews, you might just be a speed freak.

The Road Rager

Shouting. Swearing. Rude gesturing. It can be more than a little unnerving to be driven by someone so angry at a bad driver on the road that the vein in their forehead looks like it's about to burst. According to them, everyone else on the road is a bad driver.

Coming up against these types when you're driving yourself can be intimidating, but try not to take it personally.

So have you ever made the effort to wind down your window just to ensure the person you're mad at will hear your ill-tempered v erbosity? If yes, it's possible you're a road rager.

The Kind Traveller

Kind travellers will stop at an empty zebra crossing because they think the person walking along the pavement might want to cross the road - that is when they reach it in ten seconds. They will wave a car with twenty other vehicles directl y behind it out to go ahead of them. They sympathise with drivers struggling to park and may even give up the space they've spotted.

It's nice to be nice. It's also nice to get where you need to go in a decent time.

The 'It's My Car' DJ

Whether you're stuck in a motorway traffic jam in the middle of winter or cruising along with the windows down on a sunny day, whenever a great song comes on the radio your day just got a little bit better. Although, you've just got to hope that the per son driving likes the song too.

'It's my car' DJs will only listen to music that they like because, well, it's their car. MP3 players allow them to change the tune easily - sometimes a button by the steering wheel is all it takes - so it is actually possible that in one journey you might not hear more than 20 seconds of the same song. These drivers aren't happy unless EVERYONE on the road can hear their music. If you've ever installed subwoofer speakers in your car, or the volume on your music player is always as high as it can go, this could be you.

The Old at Heart

This doesn't really apply to the older generation - they have reasons to be a little more cautious - but the old at heart have adopted a cautious approach early. Seats are pulled forward right to the steering wheel, comfy cushions and back rests are per manent residents of the driver's seat, hands rarely slip from the ten to two position and the speed limit is almost never met.

It's fine to be sensible and comfortable - encouraged, even - but it does mean that it takes the old at heart rather a little longer to get where they need to go.

The Boy Racer

Do you feel a need for speed when the traffic light turns green? Boy Racers can't stand it when someone pulls away faster than them. They'll let you know, too, by revving their engines to a point of near ruin.

There's not a whole lot of actual street racing going on - this isn't 'The Fast and the Furious' - but it doesn't stop cars from being decked out with high-power exhausts and aftermarket body kits. If you're unsure whether or not your car is e ven legal any more, you probably fall into this category.

If you don't see yourself in any of these profiles, ask a friend what type of driver you are - you may be in for a shock!